Leonardo da Vinci

Today’s post is about a popular quote that is often misattributed to Leonardo da Vinci. Read on to discover who really wrote it and who is spreading this misinformation.

The Misattributed Quote

✘“There are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, those who do not see.”
Leonardo da Vinci

The Correct Quote Variations

Because this quote was originally written in Italian in the 16th century, it has been translated into English many times by many different translators resulting in many variations. I am listing five variations below, but this is not a comprehensive list.

✓“There are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others.”
Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince, Chapter XXII, page 181 (London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1908)
Translated by W. K. Marriott

✓“There are three different kinds of brains, the one understands things unassisted, the other understands things when shown by others, the third understands neither alone nor with the explanations of others.”
Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince, Chapter XXII, page 92 (London: Grant Richards, 1903)
Translated by Luigi Ricci

✓“There are three scales of intelligence, one which understands by itself, a second which understands what is shown it by others, and a third which understands neither by itself nor on the showing of others.”
Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince, Chapter XXII, page 172 (London: Oxford University Press, 1913)
Translated by Ninian Hill Thomson

✓“In the capacities of mankind there are three degrees: one man understands things by means of his own natural endowments; another understands things when they are explained to him; and a third can neither understand them of himself, nor when they are explained by others.”
Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince, Chapter XXII, page 477 (London: George Bell & Sons, 1909)
Translated by unknown

The Quote Translated by UnknownThe History of Florence and The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, page 477 (London: George Bell & Sons, 1909)

✓“There are three kinds of mind: the first grasps things unaided; the second when they are explained; the third never understands at all.”
Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince, Chapter XXII (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988)
Translated by Russell Price

I cannot provide an image due to copyright restrictions; however, the book can be found on Amazon.com.

Statistics

After surveying 110 websites featuring today’s misquote, I found the following trends.

Quote Websites Are the Main Source of Today’s Misquote

The above statistics show that websites with the sole purpose of providing quotes are the largest group propagating today’s misquote. If we combine them (31%) with the websites that provide quotes as a major part of their functionality (4%), we find that 35 percent of the websites perpetuating this misinformation are major quote repositories. Once again, we see that quote websites are not reliable sources for quotes. The vast majority of them feature data that is not fact-checked. Consequently, they are a key contributor to the spread of misquotes throughout cyberspace and modern literature. Avoid them at all costs.

Social Media Is Another Source of Today’s Misquote

The above statistics also indicate that social media websites play a major role in the proliferation of today’s misquote. The user interactions that occur on social media create an environment that is conducive to the rapid spread of misinformation. Much like a virus, when one person posts an infected quote, all of his/her followers get it, and all of their followers get it and so on and so forth. The next thing you know we have a pandemic on our hands. And when that happens, untruths become “facts” which ultimately make their way into our culture and academia. My 12/31/15 post “No, Clara Barton did not write that” is an example of this.

Possible Cause of Today’s Misquote

There is another variation of today’s quote found in the novel The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci (1902) by Dimitri Merejkowski. Below is the quote found in Book XII, chapter IV on page 328. Note the verb “see” is used, similar to the misquote.

The pink highlight on the quoted page indicates that Merejkowski clearly wrote that it is Machiavelli who says the quote. The question is how did Machiavelli get replaced by da Vinci in the misquote? My guess is that somewhere in time some quote hunter found the quote in this book which has Leonardo da Vinci in the title and assumed he said it instead of Machiavelli and then posted it on the internet. Of course, this is pure speculation, and I could very well be wrong. But the use of the verb “see” only occurs in this book and the misquote, so I tend to think there is a correlation.

Translated Quotes Are Not Reliable

Today’s misquote demonstrates perfectly why I do not like to use translated quotes. The wording can vary so widely across different translations that sometimes the entire meaning is changed. Fortunately, even though there are many wording variations for Machiavelli’s quote, the meaning does not change that much with each version. However, this is not always the case. My 06/07/14 post “No, that’s not how Benjamin Franklin wrote it” highlights a Latin quote that has a variety of English translations, each with a completely different meaning. I prefer to avoid this loss in translation by simply not using translations.

Quote Books Often Feature Misquotes

Today’s misquote appears in at least 27 contemporary books. All were published in the 2000s, and three of them are quote books. One of the quote books is specifically Leonardo da Vinci quotes only. Unfortunately, it features today’s misquote AND the da Vinci misquote I wrote about in my 11/30/15 post “No, Leonardo da Vinci did not write that.” Like the vast majority of quote books on the market right now, this book does not include detailed source information with each quote. As I’ve written before, never trust a book (or website) that does not include information such as the name of the work in which the quote is found along with applicable data like chapter, act, scene, line, stanza, etc. If you cannot verify the quote with the data provided, it is not reliable.

Most Amusing Finds

During my research, I came across two informational websites that are specifically about Leonardo da Vinci and Leonardo da Vinci only, and they both feature today’s misquote. . . Well, there goes all credibility. [queue sad wah-wah-wah-waaaah trombone]

I also came across an article about Leonardo da Vinci on storify.com. The author writes that the misquote “can be interpreted and applied to the Mona Lisa.” Boy, talk about reaching. [smile, chuckle, wink]

Most Disappointing Find

Sadly, I discovered today’s misquote on the University of St. Andrews, Scotland website. I’m always disappointed to see the quote virus infecting educational institutions.

For Sale

As usual, our misquote is available for purchase. That’s right! For just $24.65 you can have your own misquote mouse pad. (Wow, trying saying that three times really fast.) If you’re more of a fashionista, $29.95 will get you a beautiful misquote sweatshirt so you can proudly display something da Vinci never said, preferably to “those who do not see.” [Tee hee!] Yes . . . that is a feeble attempt at geeky quote humor.

Let’s Kill the Quote Virus Together

I haven’t come up with a vaccine for the quote virus yet, so for now our only weapon is education. You, dear reader, can help by sharing the knowledge. Forward this post to friends and family, and if you’re on Facebook, “like” my Facebook fan page. If you’re on Twitter, you can follow me @SueBrewton.

Until next time,

“Be the antidote and don’t misquote.”

Share the knowledge!

Today’s post is about a wildly popular inspirational quote that is often misworded and misattributed to Leonardo da Vinci. Follow along to learn who really wrote it as well as who is spreading this misinformation across the internet.

The Misattributed and Misworded Quote Variations

✘“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.”
Leonardo da Vinci

✘“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.”
Thomas Paine

✘“I love the man that can smile at trouble; that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.”
Thomas Paine

The Correct Quote

✓“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.”
Thomas PaineThe American Crisis, No. I
December 1776

The American Crisis is a series of 16 essays by Thomas Paine published from 1776–1783 under the pseudonym Common Sense. Thirteen of the essays are numbered, and the quote appears in essay number 1.

Here is the quote found on page 176 in G. P. Putnam’s Sons 1912 publication of Common Sense Together with The American Crisis.

The Quote Found in Common Sense Together with The American Crisis (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912)

Here is the beginning of essay number 1 on page 170. Note the famous first sentence.

The First Paragraph of “The Crisis, No. 1” with the Famous First Sentence

Here is the title page of the publication.

The Title Page of Common Sense Together with The American Crisis (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912)

The Library of Congress has a copy of the original pamphlet published in Boston titled “The American Crisis (No. 1).” The quote appears in the third column at the end of the 23rd line (which begins with “might have saved”).

If this link does not work, you can find the document by following these steps:

1. Go to the Library of Congress website (www.loc.gov)
2. Enter “The American Crisis (No. 1)” in the search bar
3. Click on the link to the document
4. Click on the document image
5. Click the “+” button to zoom in for better viewing

This Misquote Is Often Cited As Two Sentences

In the above-referenced copy of the original pamphlet, the wording and punctuation of the quote and the subsequent sentence are as follows:

“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”

Compare this correct version to the most popular misattributed versions (I have underlined the incorrect wording and punctuation):

“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.”

“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.”

The Most Popular Versions Are Not Only Misattributed but Are Misworded

The comparisons above demonstrate that the most popular versions of this misquote are misattributed AND misworded. Some may think slight rewording or paraphrasing is acceptable; however, I absolutely object to that when it comes to important historical documents such as The American Crisis. It is a shame that it is Americans, for the most part, who are attributing this quote to someone other than Thomas Paine. Rewriting the words just adds insult to injury.

Statistics
After surveying 150 websites featuring today’s misquote, I found the following trends.

Quote Websites Are the Main Source of Today’s Misquote

Based on the above statistics, the main source of today’s misquote are websites that specialize solely in providing quotes. The 7% of websites that provide quotes as a major feature of their functionality should also be noted. These two categories together mean 42% of the sites featuring this misquote are major databases specializing in quotes. This is a classic example of what’s known in computer science as GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). In other words, if the quality of the input is garbage, the quality of the output is garbage. And for some reason, the vast majority of websites that specialize in quotes have no quality control whatsoever. In fact, many of them allow any user to add any data at any time. In a nutshell, these websites should be avoided at all costs.

Social Media Is Another Source of Today’s Misquote

The above statistics also show that social media is the second major source of propagation for today’s misquote. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the quote virus quickly and easily spreads its germs through social media. Every user that posts a misquote spreads it to all of his/her followers, who spread it to all of their followers, who spread it to all of their followers, etc. The bottom line is never trust a quote sent to you via social media. There’s a high probability it is infected.

We May Have an Incubating Mutant

During my research, I came across an Instagram post featuring the misquote attributed to Thomas Paine. I then noticed underneath it another user posted the comment, “I think that’s a Da Vinci or DiCaprio quote.” Knowing how social media works, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new mutation emerges in the near future attributing the misquote to Leonardo DiCaprio. Stay tuned.

Most Amusing Finds

My most amusing find is a Leonardo da Vinci website that features today’s misquote. The sole purpose of this website is to provide information about Leonardo da Vinci and only Leonardo da Vinci. One would think with a subject-matter scope this narrow all data provided would be verified. Unfortunately, this bit of misinformation makes all information on the website suspect.

My second amusing find is a book of Leonardo da Vinci quotes published in 2013, and you guessed it; our misquote is proudly featured in the book. One has to wonder why anyone would go through all the effort to publish a book and not fact-check any of the data. The end result is a book that has no credibility, and the author becomes another carrier in today’s misinformation epidemic. Unfortunately, the advent of quick and easy self-publishing has contributed heavily to this modern-day plague.

Most Disappointing Finds

I was very disappointed to see today’s misquote featured as the “Quote of the Week” on a blog written by K-12 principals and school administrators. One would think educators would be a little more diligent about the information they are conveying.

I was also disappointed to find a scrapbooking website based in Ohio that features today’s misquote on a list of suggested quotes to use. Not only is the quote misworded, but it is attributed to Thomas Payne instead of Paine. It is sad that the name of a well-known, important historical figure in American history is misspelled, and no one has noticed or bothered to correct it since 2013 when the site was established.

Quote Books Often Feature Misquotes

I came across seven quote books featuring today’s misquote. The publication dates range from 2003 to 2015. Unfortunately, most modern quote books are merely compilations of quotes obtained from the internet and other previously published quote books. If there is no accompanying detailed source information with each quote, the book should not be trusted. Citing the writer/orator’s name alone is not sufficient. The source information should include the name of the work in which the quote is found followed by applicable information such as chapter, act, scene, stanza, line, etc.

Misquotes Can Be Found in a Wide Variety of Books

I also found today’s misquote in 11 books that are not specifically about quotes. The publication dates range from 2007 to 2015, and the topics vary from fiction to spirituality to stress management to water-and-waste management.

Misquotes for Sale

As always, I found our misquote available for purchase. For $15.95 you can have your own misquote coffee mug. If you prefer something a little more artsy, a canvas misquote poster can be yours for just $59.00. It’s amazing how many flawed merchandise options there are!

Let’s Kill the Quote Virus

The quote virus can only be killed through education and safe quoting. You can help by sharing the knowledge with your family and friends. Also, if you’re on Facebook, you can “like” my Facebook fan page, and if you’re on Twitter, you can follow me @SueBrewton.

Finally, remember to practice safe quoting by never trusting quotes on quote websites or social media. Also be wary of quote books that don’t have detailed source information. Until next time,

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